Something Fishy in the Seattle Terror Arrests…

Well, it’s not news that the FBI has, in the last few years, in an attempt to appear prescient and in control, manufactured numerous terror plots, and conned various lost souls to participate in them. The bombs or weapons are fake, the FBI swoop in, and in something not unlike the conclusion of a police drama, they give the press conference. But there’s definitely something weird about this one.

SEATTLE – Two men were arrested late last night and are charged by criminal complaint with terrorism and firearms related charges. The complaint alleges that Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif, aka Joseph Anthony Davis, 33, of Seattle, and Walli Mujahidh, aka Frederick Domingue, Jr., 32, of Los Angeles, took possession of machine guns that they purchased and planned to use in an attack on the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) located on East Marginal Way, Seattle.

Law enforcement has been monitoring Abdul-Latif and Mujahidh, including the weapons transaction, to prevent the attack and protect the public.

[…]

Law enforcement first became aware of the potential threat when a citizen alerted them that he/she had been approached about participating in the attack and supplying firearms to the conspirators. The person then agreed to work with law enforcement, which began monitoring Abdul-Latif and Mujahidh.

I’ve been saying for years now, that the biggest indicator that there is no viable terror threat in this country is the fact that guns are so easy for almost anyone to get a hold of. With the advent of the suicide strike, bombs are no longer the only means of terror attacks for individuals or organizations. If you’re going on a suicide run, guns will do just as well as a suicide vest, and may in fact, be more effective. It’s no secret that guns are absurdly easy to obtain in our country. As this New York Times story reported, even people on the terror watch list can legally purchase a gun:

people placed on the government’s terrorist watch list can be stopped from getting on a plane or getting a visa, but they cannot be stopped from buying a gun.

And guns are arguably even easier to obtain illegally. Even if the suspects in this case, or any other, are one of the few Americans legally disqualified from buying a gun, few barriers seem to exist for an individual committed to carrying out a terror act. No organization is necessary, obviously, and very little planning or investment. Thus, the fact that the FBI managed to get in on this before the act can only be described as an incredible bit of luck. It’s also possible that the events did not happen in the sequence the FBI suggests in terms of their informant being approached.

Rather than the image that the FBI seeks to manufacture, “that his case epitomizes the value and capabilities of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force concept as a means of preventing acts of terrorism”, it would seem that the case should really point out just how ill-equipped the FBI is to prevent such acts. It was this very task force that was monitoring Abdul Hakim Muhammad when he legally purchased a weapon, and proceeded to commit a similar act in 2009 in Arkansas. The odds of the FBI really being able to stop fire-arms terror are as pitiful as anyone could imagine.